PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Greylock Federal Federal Credit has awarded 13 area college-bound high school students with $500 college scholarships as part of the credit union's Treat Everyone Better Than They Expect scholarship program.
Greylock's scholarships are presented to students who demonstrate an outstanding level of community service, volunteer work and an essay.
"We hope that this program not only helps families fund the increasing cost of higher education but also will enforce positive behavior that helps to develop admirable values such as mutual respect and tolerance, a positive attitude, and service to and concern for others," Greylock President Marilyn L. Sperling said.
The class of 2012 was nominated by teachers and guidance counselors in area high schools.
The recipients are:
Jennifer Lynch – St. Joseph Central High School
McKenzie Herbert – Drury High School
Amy Chapman – Pittsfield High School
Tara Sullivan – Mount Everett Regional School
Alexander Tierney – Taconic High School
Nathan Gutmann – McCann Technical School
Alec Vincent – Lenox High School
Allison McHugh – Lee Middle and High School
Charles Sutter – Mount Greylock Regional High School
Justin Duval – Hoosac Valley High School
Seth Koczela – Wahconah High School
Annalena Barrett – Monument Mountain High School
Cassidy Matthew – Berkshire Arts & Technology Public Charter School
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State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires
STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well.
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
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